Council tax reduction

The council tax reduction (CTR) scheme can provide help with council tax costs. The amount of reduction you receive will depend on your circumstances, including your income, savings, members of your household and council tax band.

To find out more about the council tax reduction scheme, download our factsheet - see the downloads section.

For more information, you can also download a copy of the full council tax reduction scheme.

Use our benefits calculator to find out if you qualify. The calculator can be used to assess entitlement to housing benefit and council tax reduction. It is only an estimate based on the information you supply.

Some of the information you input into the calculator will be transferred to the online claim form should you wish to continue with a claim following your trial calculation.

If you believe you qualify for council tax reduction, you can make a claim online.

Use our housing benefit and council tax reduction e-form to check your entitlement and make a claim. Calculations are estimates and may change once your claim has been fully assessed. If you need help completing the e-form, please see our e-form factsheet.

At the completion of the e-form, you will be presented with a page that asks you to provide us with evidence to support your new claim. A full list of documents we may ask you for can be found in our evidence factsheet. Any delay in providing the evidence we ask for will delay your payment.

I need help making a claim

If you are unable to make a claim using the e-form, please contact us so we can make another arrangement for you.

Tell us immediately if something changes

If there are any changes in your household or personal circumstances after you make an application for housing benefit and/or council tax reduction, you must let us know immediately. Don’t rely on someone else to tell us.

How to tell us about a change

The easiest way to let us know is to phone us on 0300 456 0110 and tell us what has changed. We will then be able to tell you if we need you to send us evidence of the change, or we might be able to change your claim without you needing to do anything else. If you are unable to phone us, see other ways you can contact us - see below.

Providing proof

When reporting a change of circumstance, you may need to provide proof of the change and when it happened.

If you disagree with a decision about your council tax reduction (CTR) claim, you can request more information about the decision or appeal.

I don’t understand the decision

When we have dealt with your claim for CTR, we will send you a decision letter. This letter will explain the information we have used to work out your reduction. You should check the letter carefully. If you do not understand the decision and want it explained, please contact us straight away.

I’m not happy with the decision

If you are unhappy with the decision, you must write to us within one month asking for it to be looked at again. This is called a reconsideration. When you write to us, you must tell us:

Your full name and address.

The address that the appeal relates to.

The grounds on which you are unhappy with the decision.

Reasons why you consider that the decision or calculation made by the council was incorrect.

We will look at your claim and advise you in writing of the outcome within one month of receiving your request for reconsideration. If the decision is not changed in your favour, you will have the right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England within two months of the date of the reconsideration.